Job summary
- Main area
- Microbiology
- Grade
- Band 2
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week (Full Flexibility Required)
- Job ref
- 153-SP04514
- Employer
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Royal Bournemouth Hospital
- Town
- Bournemouth
- Salary
- £24,169 pa pr
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/05/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Medical Laboratory Assistant - Microbiology
Band 2
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £250m estates programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
Job overview
An opportunity has arisen for a Medical Laboratory Assistant to join the Microbiology department at University Hospitals Dorset.
The Microbiology laboratory is well-equipped, fully computerised, holds UKAS accreditation and is approved for training. We currently offer diagnostic microbiology to The Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Poole Hospital and general practices. The laboratory routinely handles in excess of 250,000 specimens per year.
The successful candidate will be part of the microbiology team providing a diagnostic medical microbiology service contributing to the clinical care of patients and control of infectious diseases within the hospital and community, by providing support to the Biomedical Scientists and other staff. As such this post will be a varied and interesting role that will require an adaptable and flexible working ethic. All training will be provided to the candidate who will then backfill for staff leave between the sections.
This is an exciting time to join the pathology team in Dorset as we are in the process of reconfiguring the services across the county.
Working hours are 30 hours per week, which includes participation in a weekend rota.
Base Location: Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Interview Date: TBC
Main duties of the job
After training, MLAs will be required to carry out a range of laboratory procedures including processing diagnostic specimens. Concentration, accuracy and attention to detail are essential to these processes and medical laboratory assistants will be expected to provide a helpful and professional service to patients and staff within the NHS.
Working for our organisation
Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues.
UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme.
This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruitment Mangers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this at interview.
Please note if the role or service is relocated as part of a planned move, employees will not be eligible for excess mileage reimbursement. Travel from the postholder's home to the new work base will be considered a normal commute. Any other changer not related to this relocation will be manged according to the relevant Trust or National terms and conditions.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Good general education, numerate & literate, A-levels or other suitable qualifications
Desirable criteria
- Vocational NVQ2
Technical Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent keyboard/computer skills
- High degree of accuracy in all work
- Ability to follow detailed and complex protocol
- Good communication skills
- Ability to work effectively as part of the laboratory team
Experience
Desirable criteria
- Experience of work in a laboratory or hospital environment
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Rachel Hayter
- Job title
- Laboratory Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0300 019 4846
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